The telephone of Francisco Blanco (Gijón, 1969) did not stop receiving congratulatory messages yesterday for his future appointment as Secretary General of Industry and SMEs of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism. He had to turn it off, but to fly from Madrid to Asturias, where he will spend Christmas Eve and Christmas with his family and friends. On Monday she and she will return to the Spanish capital to begin preparing for her landing in the department still directed by Reyes Maroto, who for her part hurries the last moments of her as minister before launching into the electoral race for the City of Madrid. Blanco attended LA NUEVA ESPAÑA while she waited for her suitcase on the conveyor belt at the Asturias Airport. His voice conveyed a certain emotion at her appointment.
How do you receive the news of your appointment?
–With great enthusiasm and with much gratitude to both Minister Reyes Maroto and President Pedro Sánchez. The industry is an area that not only is not foreign to me, but I feel very involved in it since I held the Ministry of Industry of the Principality between 2015 and 2017, under the mandate of Javier Fernández.
What will be your priorities in your new position?
-It is still too early to say, since the appointment has not even been approved yet in the Council of Ministers. But, logically, at that time the development of European Next Generation funds is key for the Spanish economy in general and for the industry in particular. I would say that right now we are in the middle of the process of awarding European aid, something to which the excellent work of my predecessor, Raül Blanco, and the minister have contributed.
-Despite the fact that the importance of the industry in Asturias has decreased in recent years, it still has a significant weight. And an Asturian directing Spanish industrial policy is a favorable factor…
–Without a doubt, Asturias has an extraordinary opportunity with the arrival of European funds. In the region we have undergone many reconversions over many years, to the point that sometimes it seems that we are in a perpetual reconversion. However, in Asturias they have also been doing many things very well for years, although sometimes they are not publicly known or attract as much attention. For example, in the renewable energy sector. In any case, Europe has realized that in the past it has missed the boat, and these funds are an excellent opportunity for Europe, Spain and Asturias to get back on track with the industry.
Will we soon have news of the arrival of funds for the decarbonization of Arcelor?
–I believe that the decarbonization PERTE that includes aid from Arcelor will be approved relatively soon. I still do not have first-hand information, but everything indicates that the processing at the European Commission is progressing without problems.